'No clear favourites in Aussie-SA clash'

Sharjah - With the thoughts of local cricket fans understandably turning to the three match series against Australia in mid-April, it is intriguing to hear Saurav Ganguly's thoughts on the matter given that he has just played against South Africa and Australia in quick succession.

"It will be a good series, definitely," said India's current one-day captain.

"Australia are a good one-day side and South Africa are a good one-day side. I don't think any one team will run away with it. I'm not going to make any predictions but it will be very close."

The consensus in Sharjah is that South Africa are still in flux as they experiment with crucial combinations in an attempt to find adequate replacements for Allan Donald, Daryll Cullinan and Jonty Rhodes.

While Hansie Cronje is on record as saying that he has been particularly impressed with the roles played by Shaun Pollock, Jacques Kallis, and Mark Boucher on this tour, this has been offset by the parallel feeling that South Africa aren't looking quite as settled as a good team needs to be.

Injuries to frontline bowlers such as Nantie Hayward and Henry Williams has meant that Cronje has been shuffling his bowlers with one hand tied behind his back, and the middle order has looked similarly incomplete with no one managing to claim the number four position as his own.

Neil McKenzie needed to play an innings of substance on Sunday in Nagpur and was looking in good nick until getting a bottom edge to a quicker delivery off Anil Kumble.

Others too have looked unsure of themselves in this position.

Nicky Boje, after having had a tremendous Test series, hasn't really taken his opportunities, this despite Cronje's known arguments in favour of the left hander.

Until his 75 not out on Sunday Lance Klusener had also been slightly disappointing at the crease and perhaps the answers to South Africa's middle order problems are embodied in him.

It has been confirmed by the tour management that Henry Williams will be replaced by Boland's left-arm seamer Charl Willoughby.

Team physiotherapist Craig Smith and team manager, Goolam Rajah have advised Williams to take a break.

"my recommendation is that he'll take at least three weeks to recover" said Smith in Mumbai en-route to Sharjah, the final leg of the tour.

"It's basically the old injury flaring up again, and as far as I can see, there is no point in keeping him here when he could be resting at home."

The current chapter of Williams' international career has been nothing if not a stop/start affair. He bowled and caught well for South Africa against India during the first one-day international in Cochin ten days ago, helping to remove Sachin Tendulkar off Nantie Hayward with a good catch, but he didn't complete his spell there and was in the wilderness for matches two, three and four.

He had a good bowl in the nets at Nagpur on Saturday afternoon and looked set to bowl his full complement of overs on Sunday.

Cronje has said on a number of occasions during the tour that if he were to identify a turning point in the one-day series it would be when South Africa had India rattled at 100/4 in Cochin, this after having racked up 300 odd in their first innings.

Such a position was due in no small part to Hayward and Williams, who both bowled comparatively inexpensive first spells, but both got injured during the course of the Indian innings (Hayward with a stomach tear) and both were to play little further part in the series.